Songbirds Sedoka was created as a fun experiment to see how poets would respond to an obscure form,
and I was thrilled with the submissions. Not only was I impressed by the number of sedoka submitted,
but also the quality, which made it difficult to even select my 4 favorites.
EC
dawn flushes
across the pale cheeks
of this winter sky
we wonder
if you will make it
through another night
Debbie Strange, Canada
A very visually descriptive sedoka by Debbie Strange that utilizes nature in the first tercet and deepens
to a human emotion in the second tercet. Her juxtaposition is outstanding, as we see the pale cheeks of
that winter sky in the person who may not make it through another night. Debbie also has so easily
managed a perfect 3/5/5 rhythm in both verses.
EC
spending every
night knitting scarves after
scarves I will never wear
when you're gone
what else will I do
to busy my hands
Vandana Parashar, India
This sedoka by Vandana Parashar uses a longer tercet on top of 4/6/6, setting up the prelude for her
second shorter tercet of 3/5/5 when we find out the “why” she is knitting “scarves after scarves”.
The use of the phrase “every night” and “scarves” (plural) lets the reader know the depth of her question.
EC
I went for a walk
after a difficult day
desert flowers cloak the hills
footprints of mice
impressed on glinting sand
how small my problems feel
Ginny Short, USA
By Ginny Short, a sedoka where each tercet is a separate thought, yet related through a walk in the desert.
At first, she sees flowers cloaking the hills, and then notices the small footprints of mice which diminish
her own problems of a difficult day. The rhythm in both verses is right-on.
EC
when willows are stamped
against the coppery glow
will you come to me
not even bare tree
silhouettes like skeletons
will keep us apart
Marilyn Humbert, Australia
I’m sure that each reader will have their very own favorites as well. All of these are truly worthy of
publication. Congratulations to each of these poets.
This sedoka by Marilyn Humbert is a fine example of a question posed to someone who answered it.
The rhythm is perfect and it shows how sedoka, like tanka, can be poetic with the use of adjectives.
The “coppery glow” is a lovely visual and the use of her word “stamped” makes it even more vivid.
ice “s” sound in line 2 of the second tercet as well.
why seek wisdom’s hue,
in the vastness of night’s sky, ???
when lost to a city’s glare?
true wisdom’s like stars,
only clear in darkest night,
far from worldly lights’ deceit.
Steven Zhen-Ting Li, Australia
September dusk:
a few swifts chittering
become thousands
an enso swirl
funnels—impossibly!—
into a chimney
Susan Weaver, USA
will you bloom better
if I kiss you in autumn
when sunlight is less
better I will bloom
with hat in hand, as far as
a kiss is concerned
Ernesto P. Santiago, the Philippines
adult swim
boys near the diving board
call "cannonballs"
can I still
back flip into the pool
like when I was a kid
Randy Brooks, USA
Sirius the brightest
among the river of stars
please shine a pathway
this starry river…
I paddle my bark canoe
to where you abide
Marilyn Humbert, Australia
grafted branch
on common rootstock
sweet apples
splendid fruits
immigrants grafted
on native stock
Christa Pandey, USA
sitting beside me
an unlikely teacher
from a different world
eating together
her difficult lessons
so simple to swallow
Anne Curran, New Zealand
O my Guru
what are the benefits
of my actions
they add up
to your bank account
of good deeds
Lakshmi Iyer, India
pulling out weeds
how does the gardener
know what to keep
what will blossom
bit by bit on his path
the pilgrim's dream
Anju Kishore, India
when you’re gone
how will I survive
lonely nights
I’ll be here
wrapping your pillow
in starshine
Keitha Keyes, Australia
a sleepless night
with no answers found
in river song
watery stars
the intransigence of tides
your only refrain
Joanna Ashwell, UK
the heart ponders
and love scratches its head
who or what are we?
one mystery, are we
an accomplished duo
or two soloists apart
John Grey, USA
a sign
do not feed wild birds
that everyone ignores
the egrets
graciously accept
all forbidden food
Hazel Hall, Australia
in the springtime sun
with mountains and lake in view
you knelt to ask me
in the autumn sun
with our family around us
I answered yes to you
Jennifer Gurney, USA
upturned face
she memorizes
every cloud by heart
still praying
in the pouring rain
like a moonflower
Elisa Theriana, Indonesia.
winter fog descends . . .
who will guide me on this path
if you are not here with me?
little by little
even the stars will appear
and I will be there with you
Daniela Misso, Italy
pour me light
into the abyss
of my love
starry night
from the beginning
and before
Suraj Nanu, India
raking embers
in the creaky old hearth
her death rattle
cinders spit sparks
fizzle into the night
her soul now free
Lorraine Carey, Ireland
impatient mother
pacing up and down for just
that one call saying 'hello'
time and tide
takes up the same toll
for generations
Lakshmi Iyer, India
dried up in the vase
a red rose drops its petals
and slowly withers away
my wounded heart
knows not how to heal
a cut that's this deep
Bonnie Scherer, USA
wintry sky
no end to patterns
tonight it let fall
barren field
thousands of snowflakes
soften the landscape
an’ya, USA
is there an end
to the relentless wars
of humankind
the end of wars
is only to be found
in fantasies
Valentina Ranaldi-Adams USA
are those red roses
in the garden of her grave
from the tears of her longing
a wandering soul
he has no purpose but to
water the buds into bloom
R. Suresh babu, India
humid rain –
I press a green pear
will my love sweeten
the train leaves by five
I have time for only one
moment to taste, to soften
Glenn McPherson, Australia
why do you leave me
in a thunderous rumble
my day is so very dark
you choose to leave me
to avoid the lightening strike
that will be sure to follow
Bonnie Scherer, USA
awakening
the sound of windblown leaves
in a deserted street
the new season
reminds me I miss you . . .
I'm so empty inside
Daniela Misso, Italy
waves crash onto shore
and I awake, wondering
when you’ll be near me again
no force can part us
oh love, I’ll be in your bed
when this chaotic war ends
Pris Campbell, USA
war-torn theatre
turned into a bomb shelter
rehearsing for an air raid
entangled shadows
of bare branches carve their fight
into the midnight asphalt
Judit Hollos, Hungary
the songbird
a series of sounds
soft fingers
no limit
my love for you wide
as the horizon
Nani Mariani, Austalia
rainbow lorikeets
I’ll mate for life, so I’m told—
could we do the same?
I wish I could say
that I’ll always be with you …
but my bachelor heart stays
Keitha Keyes, Australia
a stormy night
louder than nature’s roar
the breaking of my heart
in every shard
of the shattered mirror
the flash of a new dawn
Anju Kishore, India
in gathering dusk
where black cockatoo flocks wheel
and veiled Artemis rises
beneath the full moon
we wait to seal our hearts’ pact
ordered from above
Marilyn Humbert, Australia
autumn wind and rain
strip our cherry tree's branches
its bronzed leaves flutter and drift
clouds yield to sun: leaves
of butternut, lemon, rose
water-coloring our walk
Susan Weaver, USA
my body is weak
from wanting you too long
through overcast days and nights
I’ll never leave you
all alone my dearest wife,
or lost in delirium
Pris Campbell, USA
waves have left the sea
have left the shore trees clinging
and left everything for you
waves have left the sea
no thanks from the flotsam crab
listless without destiny
Glenn McPherson, Australia
there’s a chill outside
and the chimes clink and clatter:
smell the prescient scent of fire
Santa Ana’s blow
while we shiver in the wind
Christmas lights sway and glitter
Ginny Short, USA
ash-streaked glacier stream
meanders through snow-covered
terrains touching the dawn sky
my first grey hair locks
as I search for a way out
of the maze I built for Death
Judit Hollos, Hungary
a flood of sweet song—
when I search for the singer
the bird has already gone
on seeking your mail
I find it has disappeared
perhaps it has flown away
Hazel Hall, Australia
why does a black swan
return to the busy road
where its mate was killed
it’s a prompt of joy
of their long life together-
and where it was ended
Rob McKinnon, South Australia
world-bearing turtle
how can you carry us now
your belly full of plastic
I can't bear this world
your deadly sea of plastics
my belly full of sadness
Susan Weaver, USA
winter sun
soothing my hurt
a slow thaw
crocus burst
what also waits
in the freeze
Anja Kishore, India
when willows are back
against the coppery glow
will you come to me
not even bare tree
silhouettes like skeletons
will keep us apart
Marilyn Humbert, Australia
bottlebrush in bloom…
about red flower spikes
birds busy themselves
forest footbridge-
tossing stones into the creek
as fairy wrens trill
Rob Mckinnon, South Australia
when to
leave the table
in midsummer
how to
quit a cold house
the long winter
Jerome Berglund, USA
seeker of the stars,
do your eyes find peace in them,
as they blaze 'cross ancient skies?
in their steadfast light,
I find an unspoken oath,
infinity bound to calm.
Steven Zhen-Ting Li, Australia
And in closing….this sedoka lesson, a hearty thanks to Ingrid Bruck!
on top of a bridge*
one zen monk asks another,
what's it like to be a fish
the monk at his side
looks down on lilies and koi
and pushes his monk friend in
*”These are new works and have never been previously published. I used your instructions, then
selected a variety of Buddhist teaching stories, reimagined and transposed them into the poems I send
you. I enjoyed the SedÅka Songbird form” Ingrid Bruck
